Looks like I lied about updating Dark Secrets first. I thought I had that chapter finished, but guess not.
(Just realized that I forgot to put Anna's POV at the beginning of last chapter. Oops. I'm sure you all figured it out, though.)
That aside, I'm back! I had some pretty terrible writer's block, but thankfully I cured it XD If you ever get writer's block, look up the Music for Writing playlists by Levi Michael Butner on Youtube. Those playlists are my savior.
I decided that I'd start doing the second date on the opening thing, simply so you aren't as confused. (I was confusing myself, actually. XD)
Without further ado, Chapter 11!
Chapter 11: Killer
December 20th/Date Unknown
(Nya's POV)
I sigh, smoothing out the map in front of me. I've already ruled out a few places the Serpentine could be hiding, and circled some possible spots. Jay stands over my shoulder, his brow furrowed in concentration. His green eyes are tired, having stayed up ever since Kai and Anna's disappearance yesterday. I blink, trying to keep myself awake as well. I don't think any of us have slept except for Abigail...but she needed it.
"Anything?" Cole asks from the doorway, dressed in casual clothes and holding a towel. He rubs his damp hair with it, still looking at Jay and I.
"No," I reply wearily, rubbing my eyes. "Nothing. And for some reason, the bridge is picking up nothing on the Serpentine either. I tried looking underground too, and still nothing... It's like they've disappeared off the face of Ninjago."
"Maybe...the Dark Island?" Cole suggests, coming into the control room. He leans over my other shoulder, gazing at the map on the table.
"I don't think so," I groan. "It's incredibly hard to locate." Both boys look at me with sad eyes. They can tell I'm hurting...they can tell that I'm missing Kai...they can see the worry in my eyes, in the way that I stand...
"Nya?!" Christy's voice rings out as she comes rushing into the room. "I think I found something!" She's holding her smartphone, an internet tab open. "Look at this!" She passes the pink phone to me, and I gaze at the screen.
"The Official Serpentine Help Page?" I read aloud. "Serpentine sightings, what to do if you find one, different types of Serpentine..." I look up at Christy with a wide smile. "You are a genius! How did you find this?!"
She laughs. "I have a lot of 'friends' on social media, they posted something about this, so I'd figure I'd check it out." She shrugs. "Sometimes, being popular can come in handy."
"Amazing," Cole says, shaking his head. "You're really something, Christy, you know that?"
She winks at him. "I try."
I gaze back at the phone screen, then click on the 'Serpentine Sightings' tab. Posts came up all over the page of people reporting in various times and places they'd seen Serpentine. Sometimes there were pictures or even video. I frown as I look at some of the pictures. Some of them were obviously fake, which ruled out anything those people said. We were going to have to figure out which of these were real and which were fake... This wasn't going to be easy. But of course...nothing ever is when you're trying to save the world.
"This is going to take a while," I tell everyone. "But it's a start. We're going to find the Serpentine, and save our friends. No matter what."
Jay and Cole smile, then fist bump. "NINJAAAAAA-GO!"
(Anna's POV)
I gaze up at the tall tree above me uneasily. The winter air bites at my skin, and I have to keep my right leg moving to spread even the tinest bit of warmth into my body. As much as I hate to admit it, Kai was right: wearing running clothes like this in the winter is a bad idea. I swallow hard. "Uh...are you sure about this?"
Other Anna snorts, pulling herself up onto the first branch of the tree. "Of course I'm sure. What, are you still scared of heights? It's really not that big of a deal if-" Suddenly, her foot slips, and she lets out a short, high-pitched yelp.
I shiver nervously. "It doesn't really look like you've overcome it to me..."
"Oh, shut the hell up," she snaps in reply, swinging her leg upwards. "This is the only way to get a good pinecone."
"Why do we need a pinecone again?" I ask, rolling my eyes. "It seems stupid. We're trying to get rid of the Serpentine and get me back to my 'verse, not create a damn centerpiece for my grandma's table."
"Don't question it," she growls, shakily pulling herself up onto another branch. "This is a favor for someone who can help us. She's quite the weirdo, that's for sure, but she can help us. I know she will."
I raise an eyebrow. "Really now? Who is this person that you can trust so much?"
"A very close friend," Other Anna replies, reaching upwards. Her fingers wrap around a pinecone, and she yanks slightly. It breaks off from the branch, settling into her hand. "She's never let me down before. I'm sure she'll support us. 'Specially if we explain to her what's going on. She'll believe all sorts of crazy shit." She begins her precarious climb back down, trying her best to not look at the ground. Finally she reaches the ground, her feet hitting the snow with a crunch. "C'mon, let's go."
"Now?" I ask, raising my eyebrows.
"Yes, now!" Other Anna sounds annoyed. "Don't you want to kick snake ass and get home fast?"
"Well, yeah, but...is this person still at school?" Other Anna freezes. "You didn't think of that, did you?" I ask her. "We can't both just stride into school and give it to them."
"Shut up." Other Anna looks really frustrated. Like me, she hates being wrong or told that her plan won't work. "Only one of us can go in... But that won't work either, she'll be in class... What does she have fifth period...?" She frowns, biting her lip. "If it's her elective... That'd be band...no, that wouldn't work..."
Suddenly, a searing pain flashes through my skull. I cry out in pain, and the world spins around me. My memories flash in front of my eyes, in backwards chronological order, until it stops on a memory from my childhood. I'm venting out my feelings of loneliness in the backyard, which I remembered exactly the way it was happening, until... Something wasn't right. A noise came from the bushes, a noise that I didn't recall being there before. What...was it?
The memory shatters, and I'm brought back to the present. My vision is blurry, but I'm able to make out Other Anna's face. She stands in front of me, her eyes wide as saucers. "Are you okay?" Her voice sounds like an old recording, fuzzy and distant.
I try to respond, but find that my lungs are starved of air. Gasping as I try to suck in oxygen, my legs give out from under me and I fall to my knees. I clutch my shirt right were my heart is, feeling my heart beating like I've just ran. Pain shoots though my head, and I bite down on my lip to prevent myself from screaming. I feel dizzy and disoriented, and my stomach churns uncomfortably.
"Hey!" Other Anna shouts, stepping forwards. She grabs my shoulders, concern crossing her features. "What happened?!"
"I..." I gasp. "There's...there's someone in my head-!"
"What?!" she exclaims. Her eyes narrow. "Do you think this has to do with the Serpentine?!"
Pain floods through my body again, and I cough violently. "H-help...me..." I grasp onto the right pant leg of her ripped jeans with my free hand, and look up at her desperately. "P-Please...h-hurts..."
"F*cking dammit," she growls, grabbing me from underneath the shoulders. "I'm gonna get you some painkillers. C'mon, back to the alley. We'll go see my friend after school."
The pain passed fairly quickly after that, but I took the painkillers anyways. Now, we were waiting outside of Clairston for Other Anna's friend to come out. I was hidden in a bush, while Other Anna stood in front of me with her arms folded across her chest, as if she was guarding me. She taps her foot impatiently, chewing on a stick of gum. I turn over my own gum in my mouth anxiously, desperate. I need to find a way home, and fast. The others are probably worried sick... I just hope that this friend of hers can help...
The bell rings loudly, startling me. I nearly fall out of the bush, but thankfully I am able to stable myself. A massive crowd of students exits the building in a rush, shoving past each other. I recognize Christy and her cronies, a few of the swim team members, and a punk girl with tattoos on her arms. I spot Abigail in the mass of people, her head down as she walks alone. To my surprise, Other Anna cups her hands around her mouth and calls out to her, "Abigail!"
The brunette's head jerks upwards, meeting Other Anna's gaze. Her eyes widen as she makes her way over to her. "A-Anna," she stammerers. "B-But...how?"
"Whatdaya mean, how?" Other Anna replies harshly. "I only ran away. It's not like I died or something."
My breath hitches in my throat. 'Lindsey...'
"But...you were at school earlier...in a different outfit...with shorter hair... You..." Her voice trails off. "But now...you're exactly the same as you were before..." She swallows hard. "You were surprised when I told you about Lindsey committing suicide, like it-"
The rest of her sentence vanishes into thin air.
Lindsey... It wasn't just an accident. Her death was planned. Her death...was her own doing. She...killed herself... I blink back tears, remembering back to that one day...the day I screamed at her...
"Even YOU don't take things seriously!"
"SHE DOESN'T TRUST US ENOUGH TO TELL THE TRUTH!"
"You and Zane are lying to us. It wasn't a Serpentine attack, and I know it. If it were the Serpentine, the wounds you'd have would be from spears and swords and such. Those are bruises and what looks like cuts from thorns!"
All those things I said to her...could the secret she is hiding have to do with why she killed herself in this world...? Could it have been...my fault? Sure, that conversation didn't happen in this world, but... I was always so mean to her at school before we met the Ninja... Could I have been a reason why she ended her life...? Am I really such a horrible person? Could my way of coping with everything be hurting people? Am I...a killer?
"Hey!" Other Anna's voice jolts me out of my thoughts. "C'mon, we've gotta go!" I feel her hand grab the back of my orange shirt, pulling me roughly to my feet. Everything around me is still a blur. I know Abigail and Other Anna are speaking, but I can't make out any words. All I can hear is my thoughts, screaming up a storm in my head...
'You killed her... It's all your fault... You deserve to be stuck here... If everyone knew what you'd done, they kick you off the team... You're a horrible person... You're not wanted... Your parents hate you... Your friends hate you... You hate yourself... Nobody loves you... Everybody hates you...'
"A-Anna..." I croak out.
Surprised at the use of our shared name, she turns to look at me. "What?"
I look up at her, trying hard not to cry. "I...I'm not sure if I want to go back..." I take a deep breath. "I'm not sure...if I deserve to go back..."
Heheh...that turned out different than expected. I originally didn't have Anna flipping out that the second time... CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT FOR THE WIN.
I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. It felt good to get back to writing this. Hopefully I can update more often. We've only got a few months of school left, thank the FSM. I'm so happy. I can't wait until summer, I'm going to write as much as possible. (Including maybe working on an original novel!)
See you all next time :)
~ForeverDreamer12, signing out.